Palm Beach County Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lantana, Florida 33462
Thursday, June 10, 1999 9:25 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that when checking the left wing fuel tank during preflight, she noted water. After obtaining a second sample, '...the fuel ran clear and I was satisfied that it had been eliminated.' She performed an engine run-up before takeoff with no discrepancies noted. The flight departed and while on the downwind leg, the engine sputtered. She turned base then onto short final and with the flaps fully extended, she did not want to land long and applied full power to go-around; the engine responded. She initiated a climb retracting the flaps in increments and when about 300 feet above ground level, the engine quit. She initiated a descent for a forced landing to an open field and after recognizing that she was unable to land there, continued to descend colliding with a power line, a house and the ground. Postaccident examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the gascolator and carburetor contained water; approximately 110 milliliters of water was drained from the carburetor bowl. Additionally, both wing fuel cap seals were noted to be serviceable. Testing of the water drained from the carburetor revealed it to contain free chlorine and sodium chloride.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The poor in-flight planning by the pilot during the approach for a precautionary landing following a power interruption during the downwind leg, resulting in a go-around. A Contributing factor to the accident was the total loss of engine power during the go-around due to water contamination.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/10/1999
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 925
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City LANTANA
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33462
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport PALM BEACH COUNTY PARK
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LNA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 109
Airport Elevation 14
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 953 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 345
Weather Observation Facility ID PBI
Elevation of weather observation facility 19
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1094
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 10 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1015
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2001 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1578M
NTSB Number MIA99LA171
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 182P
Aircraft Series Identifier 182P
Aircraft Serial Number 18264376
Certified Max Gross Weight 2950
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 28 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 108
Airframe Hours 2240
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name TAE AIR SERVICE, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 12TH & ORANGE ST.
Aircraft Owner City WILMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19899
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name VALERIE E. EIKENBERG
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1198 EDGEHILL RD.
Operator City WEST PALM BEACH
Operator State FL
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 33417
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code LNA
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 910
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2001 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --